New York – India and Pakistan played a tug of war on Kashmir with the former winning the round with a befitting reply late night on Friday at the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) as I waited for the Indians to use their “Right of Reply” after the incorrigible Pakistan stirred the hornet’s nest.
Earlier in the day at the United Nation, I was surprised listening to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif making references to Jammu and Kashmir, telling the UN General Assembly that a “veil” could not stay on the issue and then reminded the international body of decades old talk of holding a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. The element of surprise was because outside the UN headquarters, thousands of Pakistani Americans were protesting against Sherif who is facing a precarious political future back home. In a stark contrast, just a stone’s throw away, Indian Americans were cheerfully welcoming their newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same city.
Abhishek Singh, Indian First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, took the floor late night blasting those references to the J&K by the Pakistani leader. Naming them as “unwarranted references” in Sherif address, Singh told the UN General Assembly, “I would like to bring to the notice of this august House that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have peacefully chosen their destiny in accordance with the universally accepted democratic principles and practices and they continue to do so.”
As his voice thundered in the hall of the UNGA, Singh said, “We, therefore, reject in their entirety the untenable comments of the distinguished delegate of Pakistan.”
Earlier asked if the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be replying to his Pakistani counterpart’s allegations, Syed Akbaruddin, Official Spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “Prime Minister, tomorrow, is going to make his statement in a forward looking manner.” As Akbaruddin disclosed that the Indian side would take advantage of its “right to reply” the same day on the floor of the UN, I decided to wait for the Indian statement to set the record straight in the UNGA. The reply was worth waiting for.